Assassination of Anarchist Salvador Olmos Goes to Court

On March 2, in the supervisory court of Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, a hearing is set to take place regarding the case of Salvador Olmos García (Chava), who was assassinated by municipal police on June 26, 2016.

Chava actively participated in the anarcho-punk movement and in the organization of his community. He principally worked with communication projects related to the defense of territory.

Despite various police officers and officials being implicated in the case, whether by omission or complicity, more than eight months after the assassination, only one policeman has been detained in the Etla prison in Oaxaca. The prosecution has focused only on the judicial situation of this specific policeman, who has been charged with intentional homicide.

The local prosecution has shown that they don’t have an interest in justice in the case of Salvador Olmos (Chava). Family members fear that the hearing on March 2 is meant to reinforce the idea that everything was an accident so that the police can remain free.

Due to the obstacles of the investigative authorities, both local and state, it has been a difficult road for the family members demanding justice for the assassination of Chava. Since the assassination occurred, the prosecution and the municipal government have insisted that his death was an accident. According to them, Olmos was run over by a patrol car that was trying to flee.

However, various investigations have shown that Olmos was arbitrarily transferred and extrajudicially detained for various hours. His body showed sighs of torture, his dreadlocks were torn and his body was abandoned.

This is not the first example of police brutality in Huajuapan. Friends, compañerxs, and family members hope that on this occasion a sentence can be given to all of those responsible for the assassination of Olmos. Given the context of systematic criminalization toward difference and the impunity that lives in this country, they hope that the case doesn’t continue to be presented as a simple accident.

---